Photo of Adrian Fielder

Adrian Fielder, Ph.D.

Assistant Dean of Instruction
970-947-8246 | afielder@coloradomtn.edu

Education

  • Ph.D. in Comparative Literacy/Cultural Studies, Northwestern University, 2002
  • Fulbright Fellow, Morocco, 1999-2000
  • Expert Certification, Global Environmental Education, Cornell University, 2016
  • National Certification in Community Organizing, Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation, 2015
  • Wildcrafting Certification, Roaring Foragers, 2015
  • M.A. in Francophone Postcolonial Studies, University of Utah, 1997
  • B.A. in Comparative Area Studies, Duke University, 1995

CMC’s 2017 collegewide full-time Faculty of the Year.

Tina Evans, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sustainability Studies at Colorado Mountain College Steamboat Springs, has received AASHE’s Campus Sustainability Research Award for outstanding achievements and progress toward sustainability.

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logo - 2017 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Postsecondary Sustainability Awardee

Colorado Mountain College is one of only nine postsecondary institutions in the nation and the only institution in Colorado to receive the 2017 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Postsecondary Sustainability Award.

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photo - Kevin Hillmer Pegram

Kevin Hillmer-Pegram, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Sustainability Studies
Program Chair, Sustainability Studies
970-947-8167 | kchillmer-pegram@coloradomtn.edu


Location: Spring Valley

Education

  • Ph.D. in Resilience and Adaptation (Interdisciplinary Studies), University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • M.S. in Geography (focus on nature-society relations), Pennsylvania State University
  • B.A. in Religious Studies (Anthropology minor), Arizona State University

About

I was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona – hot, dry, and prickly. As a young person, I wondered, “What’s the meaning of life?”, so I got a B.A. in Religious Studies but never found out. I was sick of school, so I moved to the US Virgin Islands. There, while working in ecotourism, I became infatuated with humans’ efforts to make our livings and enjoy our lives sustainably; that is, without destroying the environment and without destroying each other.

After a humbling car crash and years of living hand-to-mouth, I returned to school to pursue graduate studies in nature-society relations, specifically the human dimensions of climate change. I acquired an M.S. in Geography and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Resilience and Adaptation. I have worked on interdisciplinary projects funded by the National Science Foundation and by environmental NGOs, and have conducted community-based research in places such as the Caribbean, Tanzania, and arctic Alaska.

My approach to sustainability can be described as critical political economy of the environment, or political ecology. Fundamentally, I am interested in the nexus of environmental responsibility and social justice, as these two areas are inextricably linked. I work with quantitative and qualitative data, philosophy, maps, and art, and enjoy collaborations with students, community partners, and scholars from many fields. As a teacher, I am committed to making my courses rigorous, applied, and innovative.

I am ecstatic to be joining Colorado Mountain College as the CMC Spring Valley lead faculty member in Sustainability Studies in 2017. I view this position as the next step in my life-long investigation into the meaning of life, which I am now confident pertains to sustainable living! I look forward to developing meaningful relationships with my students, colleagues, and community; I look forward to planting roots.

Let’s work together to make the world a better place. There is plenty to do.

Select Publications

  • Hillmer-Pegram, K. (2017) Within Changing Systems of Arctic Tourism, What should be made Resilient to What, and for Whom? In UNDERSTANDING TOURISM RESILIENCE: ADAPTING TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. Eds. Lew, A. and J. Cheer. Routledge Press: New York, NY.
  • Hillmer-Pegram, K. (2016) Integrating Indigenous Values with Capitalism through Tourism: Alaskan Experiences and Outstanding Issues. JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM. 4(8-9): 1194-1210.
  • Chapin III, S.F., M. Sommerkorn, M.D. Robards, and K. Hillmer-Pegram (2015) Ecosystem Stewardship: A Resilience Framework for Arctic Conservation. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (34): 207-217.
  • Hillmer-Pegram, K. (2014) A Synthesis of Existing, Planned and Proposed Infrastructure and Operations Supporting Oil and Gas Activities and Commercial Transportation in Arctic Alaska. University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK. Online: https://sites.google.com/a/alaska.edu/north-by-2020/current-projects/oil
  • Hillmer-Pegram, K., P.D. Howe, H. Greenberg, and B. Yarnal (2012) A Geographic Approach to Facilitating Local Climate Governance: From Emissions Inventories to Mitigation Planning. APPLIED GEOGRAPHY 34:76-85.

Select Professional Affiliations

  • American Association of Geographers (since 2010)
  • Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (since 2015)
  • International Polar Tourism Research Network (since 2012)

Athena Murray

Athena R. Murray, Ph.D.

Professor, Communication
Affiliated Faculty, Sustainability Studies
970-870-4424 | armurray@coloradomtn.edu

2022 CMC College-wide Faculty of the Year

EDUCATION

  • Ph.D., Communication Studies and graduate certificate in Women’s Studies, University of Georgia
  • M.A., Communication Studies, University of Kansas
  • B.A., Philosophy and Women’s Studies, Michigan State University

Communication is central to our public and private lives. As a former competitive debater, debate coach, and now communication professor, I have seen firsthand the transformative effect that communication skills have for individuals and communities. My courses teach students to think critically about the messages they experience every day and to be more intentional when creating their own. I strive to instill communication competence and efficacy in students so they can succeed personally, academically, and professionally.

Nathan Stewart

Nathan L. Stewart, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Sustainability Studies
970-870-4562 | nlstewart@coloradomtn.edu


Location: Steamboat Springs Campus

2019-20 College-wide Faculty of the Year

Education

  • Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • B.A. in Biology from Carleton College, MN

Sustainability Studies Courses

  • SUS 310, Ecology & Sustainability
  • SUS 311, Integrated Sustainability Science
  • SUS 375, Wildland Fire Science & Mitigation
  • SUS 375, Water, Weather & Climate Extremes
  • SUS 387-488, U.S. Forest Service I-IV
  • SUS 387, Wildlife Monitoring
  • SUS 391, Field Experience in Sustainability
  • SUS 410, Conservation Biology
  • SUS 440, Watershed Science & Land Use Impacts
  • SUS 489, Sustainability Capstone

About

My approach to sustainability science, practice and teaching is informed by my training in ecology and conservation biology. My research broadly focuses on ecosystem function, resilience and recovery, and combines long-term observations from field studies with experimental manipulations and multivariate analyses of change. Wherever possible I strive to integrate research training, field techniques and laboratory methods into my coursework with the goal of providing students with the skills and experience necessary to pursue meaningful careers in science, stewardship and natural resource management.

I was previously faculty of biology at Boston University, and field program lead with the BU Marine Semester. I have taught at Tufts University, Wellesley College, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Columbia University’s Earth Semester, and the University of Arizona’s Nyanza Project, Tanzania (National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates). I am delighted to join the faculty in the Bachelors of Arts in Sustainability Studies Program here at Colorado Mountain College.

Rocky Mountain Land Management Internship

I serve as Program Director for the Rocky Mountain Land Management Internship Program, a rigorous field-based internship offered in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service. This first-of-its-kind in the nation, two-year paid internship is designed to train the next generation of land managers, natural resource specialists, and mountain sports rangers. Learn more about the Rocky Mountain Land Management Internship Program.

graphic - learn more about the Rocky Mountain Land Management Internship Program

Select Publications

Lee, JC, K Lesneski, K Donnellan, L DiRoberts, A Lindseth, J Okechi, SH Doshi, D Minkoff, R Branconi, ER Newmark, JS Tower, KA Tobin, NL Stewart, R Rotjan, V Disanto, & JR Finnerty (2018) Morphological and physiological differences among alternative morphs of the queen conch (Lobatus gigas) near Calabash Caye, Belize. Belize Fisheries Department, Research Permit #000064-17. Submitted November 7. 2018.

Bengtsson ZA, Kuhn KM, Battaglino AT, Li AS, Talbot MN, Wafapoor M, Atta CJ, Kowalski MB, Margolis SP, Rar EA, Burmester EM, Lesneski KC, Scavo K, Kaufman L, Stewart NL, Finnerty JR. 2015. Corals of the genus Porites are a locally abundant component of the epibiont community on mangrove prop roots at Calabash Caye, Turneffe Atoll, Belize. PeerJ 3:e1811

Stewart NL, Konar B, and Tinker MT. 2014. Testing the nutritional limitation and predator avoidance hypotheses for restricted sea otter habitat use in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Oecologia 177(3):645-55.

Stewart NL, Konar B, and Doroff AM. 2014. The influence of habitat complexity and prey availability on sea otter resource selection in a heterogeneous environment. Bulletin of Marine Science 90:921–939.

Stewart NL and Konar B. 2012. Kelp forests vs. urchin barrens: alternate stable states and their effect on prey quality in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Journal of Marine Biology 2012:1–12.

Freiwald J, Stewart NL, Yates DC, and Bernardi G. 2009. Isolation and characterization of nine polymorphic microsatellite loci of the kelp greenling, Hexagrammos decagrammus, a temperate reef fish. Molecular Ecology Resources 9:563–565.